July 16- FLOYD’S BIRTHDAY…and the weather for boating is P E R F E C T…glassy calm water and cool…we left Picton at 6ish for our five hour run into Trenton…so that Dakota could make a 1:00 grooming appointment. It all worked.

First the NEW marina in Trenton…OMG…it is huge (over 300 boat slips) and brand spanking new. The boats have been here since May, but the marina building just opened on Wednesday…and it’s Thursday. Craig greeted us warmly and gave me a quick tour…OMG….10 Lovely individual shower spaces that would put most hotels to shame (and they intend to provide towels)…and 3 front load washers/3 front load dryers (and they provide the detergent/dryer sheets) that are F R E E…and we’re not paying that much to dock here. Craig is still managing the place…with a large staff of soon to be trained young ones…you can only get gas and pump out at the old marina…but this is truly top drawer stuff. We’ve stayed at LOTS of marinas….this is BEST EVER…well, will be. Right now they are still doing landscape work…so it’s all dirt…no grass…and the walk from the dock to land is now my exercise program…What a hike!!!We miss the atmosphere/character of the old place that was literally a hole in the wall next to the city park and gazebo…but I’m sure this will be just as beautified when the work is actually completed …almost makes you want to do the Loop again just so we could come back….NOT!!! they are gonna lose some money on us because I haven’t done laundry since we left Plattsburg NY…last time we were here, a lady picked up and delivered your laundry…for a small fee. Worth IT!!! Tomorrow we’ll have to be serious about laundry.

Now about that grooming appointment…the lady was so eager to work with us on timing even with the weather delay we experienced…probably should have been a red flag when she had no idea where she was from the marina/waterway. First taxi they called never showed up…and the other guys may have gouged me…$16 one way to the groomer….then I sat in their break room while they “shaved” my handsome boy….oh, and I totally nixed the idea that they dye his tail purple!!!! Charge seemed a ltiile high…and then you add the Taxi fare…you get the worst grooming experience ever. He seems to feel okay about it…and after a few tears, I’m good…but the weather has turned cooler so the whole “summer do” idea is not really working for me right now. I won’t have to worry about brushing him out for at least three weeks…this is gonna take awhile…

That took a major chunk out of my day…meanwhile, Floyd (the BIRTHDAY BOY) picked up mail, had his first Kawartha ice cream of the season and immediately began to work on the dinghy repair. Totally improved glue system and patch…so in 24 hours we’ll know if this one is successful…the previous two patches have failed. We aren’t desperate yet…but a dinghy will be a must in North Channel and Georgian Bay where we’ll be forced to anchor out.

Then we celebrated…The birthday boy has had his present since NYC…I got him a celestial navigation system (books, charts and sextant)…it is pretty intimidating…but something he wants to learn…we bought carrot cake cupcakes at the bakery in Picton ( good but not as good as Muriel's carrot cake)…and he found a sushi place he wants to try. So a great boating day, cooler weather, sushi and gifts he wanted…a great way to spend a birthday!!!

We met SANTA…Yep, he works for Pepsi in the off season. On the 15^th, in aisle 7 at the Sobey’s grocery store in Picton ON Canada, we met Santa…as we walked by, he was sitting on a few cases of Pepsi, making a list and checking it twice…for re-stocking the Pepsi products. We made a silly comment about him looking like Santa (which he did).  He came to life. In very animated style, he told a great story about his recent vacation in Mexico where he and a dad conspired to convince a male child that he was indeed the REAL Santa. Dad told him the kid’s name and about the big stuffed animal he had received last Christmas. Swimming by, he made comments to the kid. Calling him by name and asking about the animal that the kid had named “Ted”.  Said child freaked out!!! Santa even showed us photos.  What a hoot!!!

July 15…iffy weather was iffy…wind started howling around 2 AM …and stayed that way. So we decided to stay as well…The groomer was able to shift dogs around so we can get in tomorrow afternoon …which, of course, means an o’dark thirty departure…oh, for the love of dog…but it sure beats staying an extra day in Trenton. So we plan to give it our best shot.

We tried to do things today that we would have done in Trenton…Haircuts didn’t happen…but serious grocery shopping did…and lunch in town at the County Canteen was lovely.

I didn’t get to wear my new Canadian girl boating outfit, hey…today was a jeans and sweatshirt day for sure…but around here it doesn’t take long for the weather to change…just like home…

Just when things were getting dull this evening… a cruise ship arrived…the 48 passenger KAWARTHA VOYAGEUR…big mamou pulled right up next to us. They are going from Peterborough to Kingston…so they’ve been on the Trent-Severn and are headed to the Rideau…sure glad we didn’t meet them at bridges, locks or on those narrow passages…geesh, I don’t even get how they do that. Then before we got settled into that, a big sail training ship pulled in on the other side…17 teenagers…they didn’t stay long but their docking/undocking was exciting.  There will be photos…

Whew…if we had left this morning as originally planned, we’d have missed all this…

July 14…weather turned…before we could get away to make the 9 AM bridge opening in Kingston, rain showers and wind moved in. But they didn’t seem to last long, so we left the dock and made the 10 AM opening. And then the wind blew…crossing Kingston Bay was rough stuff. But Dakota and I were below cuddled and snug…Captain Floyd was at the fly bridge helm, grinning from ear to ear…so we left him there most of the day. Just before we rounded the bend into Picton, the clouds cleared and we had sunshine. Dakota and I joined him just in time to go to work.

Picton was totally my call…we stopped here 6 years ago…I remembered several places that have since gone away…but there were a few new ones to try.

Docked and ACs running by 4:30…Floyd and I hiked the HILL into town…busy place for a Tuesday. We did some serious shopping: new antler chews for Dakota, a few necessary groceries, a quick stop for a Linda shop (struck pay dirt on some things that I can wear as first mate that will let me be Canadian, hey), the olive oil store, and nice dinner at Portabella. Oh, and ice cream at Scooperman’s. It wasn’t Kawartha…but we thought maybe we needed to get into ice cream shape…

Weather tomorrow is looking a little iffy for our trip to Trenton…but the more we check it the better it gets. We think the weather should clear by or before noon so we can still make it. As long as we get there tomorrow sometime we’re good. Dakota has a grooming appointment on Thursday morning. Those are hard to come by…so we hate to miss that. Looper friends who came up the Erie Canal, mail and a dinghy repair kit should be waiting. We hear the new marina is opening tomorrow…but we’d be just fine to stay in the old one. Stay tuned to see how this works.

SUMMARY OF OUR SMALL TRIANGLE LOOP… We left Waterford NY on June 26 and arrived in Kingston on July 13…18 days, 542 miles, 72 locks.   The Triangle is Waterford to Sorel to Kingston back to Waterford. Since we’ve already done the stretch from Kingston to Waterford, we see no need to back track down the Erie Canal.  Once we made the turn at Sorel, every travel day has brought us closer to home.

We used several Canal Systems: NY, Champlain, Richelieu, St Lawrence, Ottawa and Rideau…plus two big commercial locks run by the Canadian government.  We spent most of our time going up in the locks…and they were baby locks for the most part. The big Carillion on the Ottawa River was certainly an exception. Several flights of three…a couple of fours…and the BIG flight of eight right in the heart of touristy Ottawa. Antennas down on the Champlain system…and we even ducked going through a couple of bridges but really our height and depth was fine.

Getting through Canadian customs was not nearly the hassle we were expecting…People had built that up to ridiculous proportions…we should have known better…we’ve done it twice before…and while we wish we had brushed up on a little French, we had no issues communicating when necessary. 

We've also still be trying to keep to the "Belly Fat Cure" way of eating...so far Floyd has lost almost 20 pounds and 3 1/2 inches around his waist...I've lost 6 pounds and 3 inches...we are looking and feeling better...


Friday we start the Trent-Severn...oh, and there will be Kawartha Ice Cream!!! Yes, we plan to fall off the wagon for a while. We'll get back on eventually...but not when Kawartha is around!!!

Love it when they have free WiFi...so long until the next one!!!!

July 13…Loved that night at Davis Falls…met another Gold Loopers and several folks who live along the Trent –Severn but are headed to Ottawa and beyond…we locked through and headed out by 9:15…to the music of a lonely loon…he sang and followed the boat for quiet some time…OMG, how absolutely lovely. Always loved teaching the short story, “How the Loon Got His Necklace”…and this was a sure sign of good things to come.

It is gonna be hot again today. Floyd decided to “go Canadian” (shirtless)…but I’m in a tank top that can go another day…so no swimwear yet. Maybe tomorrow.

Scenery today seems a little like Georgian Bay…rocks, islands, narrow passage ways…it’s Monday so not much boat traffic. Locks are ready for us and except for the go fast boat from Davis Falls who catches up and locks through with us a couple of times, we are alone. Speed limits through the twists and turns among the rocks slow us down…but we are still making really good time until we hit the last flight of locks into Kingston. They just started a group down, so we’ll be waiting at the top for them to finish and then bring a group up…should be about an hour and a half. It’s hot but the Blue Line area has plenty of shade and grass so we get off with Dakota to enjoy the land.

Sure enough, right on time, they are ready for us…and we can still make the marina in Kingston before their 6 PM closing. It is nothing to write home about…small and full of character boats. The point of interest is the fire boat manufacturing operation located there…all sorts of fire boats, labeled and ready for shipping….pretty interesting stuff. We saw a boats labeled Kuwait, Washington,DC, NYC and Savannah. Totally missed that Kodak moment.

Floyd is able to visit with a man about our dinghy leak…he has names and numbers so there is hope that the problem will be solved soon…supper on the aft deck…showers…and once again we are OUT. I’m thrilled that there are NO locks for me in the next travel days…and a layover day in Trenton to enjoy Floyd’s birthday, get Dakota groomed, do laundry and go grocery shopping, hey. A do-nothing kind of day!!! HA.

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July 12…moment of panic when Linda yells about the Rideau salad floating by the boat( Captain thought it was maybe something to worry about.)… then another moment when the Captain thinks he’s misjudged the bridge opening…but not to worry…it’s all good…and we continue to be made aware that often what you say is misinterpreted / misunderstood by the other. Luckily it hasn’t caused us trouble just tension…unnecessary tension … we must be getting old…lol..

First narrow part…and poof, around the bend comes a small boat…rocks on both sides…and he’s not giving way…little bit of excitement there…coming out of our second lock in a narrow channel…we encounter a boat more our size…once again, he has way more room to maneuver than we do…but he just keeps on coming…cement walls 20’ apart…and we know we are 12’ wide…exciting!!!! Oh, it’s gonna be a fun day, hey.

A little excitement today provided by our sweet Dakota…got excited by people and dogs at a busy lock and hopped off the boat. EEEEcckkkk…didn’t last long…but scared us and him. Then coming through another narrow section with lots of tall trees, he got spooked. Hopefully this will pass.

So Chaffy Lock where we wanted to stay is full full…so we went a couple of miles further to Davis Lock…#39…on a very low pier with power…gonna be some AC running tonight!!!! Several folks here headed the other direction…and the kids working the lock are super friendly (and bored with nothing to do). Dakota is the hit…oh, and some little dog named Pippen, who found a turtle…then jumped in the marsh water after it…and then rolled in the dirt…glad to NOT be on that boat!

Tomorrow into Kingston most of the locks are grouped together and it is only 33 miles. But can’t start until 9....YEAH!